A/N: I'm terribly sorry it had taken me so long to update! I was on holidays, and I've just come back yesterday. I'll try my best to do personal replies in the next past days, but real life is acting a bit crazy at the moment after three weeks away…

Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

Anakin stopped the speeder in front of a derelict building in the deepest levels of Coruscant underworld. Not even smugglers and bounty hunters dared enter this region. The air smelled like death and despair. He climbed out of the machine into the splattering rain.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy, as if the air was drawn out of his lungs. A wave of anguish overwhelmed him, and he had to lean on the speeder to keep on his feet. The Force was mourning, and he could feel a bitterness of a broken heart through it. Then one of the lights he felt bonded with, tinkered and died off.

Dayla.

Without casting a glance at Obi-Wan, Anakin rushed to the building, praying that his childhood friend would still be alive. It would be his fault if she died…He couldn't lose yet another person he loved.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan cried behind him, but rain and howling of the wind swallowed his words.

Anakin burst through the door and found himself standing in the gloomy hallway. The Dark Side of the Force was strong here, but it was the last thing Anakin cared about at the moment. Obi-Wan caught up with him and placed the hand on his shoulder.

"What happened, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked him anxiously. "Is it Padmé?"

Anakin shook his head. "Padmé is alright. She is scared, but she isn't hurt. It is Dayla."

He started walking up the stairs, and Obi-Wan followed him. "Dayla?" he asked in confusion.

"She must have gone to find Taren," Anakin said heavily. As he thought about the Dark Jedi again, he felt himself filling up with anger, and adrenaline surged through him. He gripped the hilt of his lightsaber tightly, and it screeched under the strength of his hold. Taren had hurt Padmé and killed Dayla… Anakin would make sure that he paid for his crimes.

They halted before a large door, made out of durasteel. Anakin summoned the Force, feeding from his anger. He felt himself shaking.

"We should get inside very cautious-"Obi-Wan started, but his words were drowned in a deafening sound of a fallen door, as Anakin gave it a powerful Force-push. The elder Jedi sighed wearily and shook his head in a gesture of exasperation.

Dust clouds obscured the vision, and Anakin stepped inside. The hall was empty with the exception of a limp body lying motionlessly on the floor. His heart constricted and something icy seemed to crawl into his stomach, making his head spin. He recognised the young woman.

"What-"Obi-Wan started speaking again, but his voice trailed away as he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the sprawled body.

Feeling a fit of despair coming up, Anakin rushed to his old friend. He remembered the first time when he had talked to her in the Room of Thousand Fountains. He had felt so lonely and detached at that moment, and Obi-Wan had been so formal to him…He remembered the look of compassion on her plump face, her lively grey eyes sparkling with curiosity. He remembered how comfortable he had felt beside the girl he barely knew. He remembered how elated he had been in his quarters later that day – he had finally found a friend.

All this rushed through his mind in the few seconds it took him to be by her side. He fell on his knees beside her, and squeezed her left hand. Her face, usually cheerful and rosy, was blank and pale. Anakin brushed her cheek. It was still warm. Dayla had long grown into a young attractive woman from the plump curious girl, and he had long ceased to be a tiny boy from Tatooine, but she would always be the embodiment of his childhood at the Temple. And he loved her for that.

"Dayla," he called desperately, stroking her hair. Through his Force vision, he could see the once bright light tinkering feebly, and he let out a sigh of relief. She was still alive…

Her abdomen was pierced by a lightsaber, and there was nothing he could do to heal the wound. His fingers lingered at her right arm, which ended with a stump. Taren had cut off her arm. Grief mixed with ever increasing anger, and Anakin nearly choked on his emotions.

"Dayla, do you hear me?" he called softly. "It's Anakin."

He brushed a bundle of red hair from her forehead. She was so pale…"Please, answer to me. Please-"

His voice broke off, and a lump formed in his throat. His eyes started to burn, but no tears welled up in them. He continued to stare at her, stroking her head, pleading for her to wake up, but she continued to lie still. Obi-Wan stood beside him, and Anakin was grateful for his former Master's support, though he could not speak yet.

Her eyelids trembled, and her eyes fluttered open. "Anakin," she whispered.

Anakin smiled. "You are alive," he said relieved, running his fingers through her hair. He preferred to omit the fact that she was mortally injured. "Everything will be alright. We will transport you to the Temple, the medics will patch you up, and in a few days you will be on your feet. We will go to the mission together, and there you will help me drive Obi-Wan crazy."

Dayla's lips stretched into a feeble smile. "You could never lie to me, Ani," she said weakly. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. "Don't start now."

Anakin's eyes burned with unshed tears. "I knew that you had a crush on Obi-Wan," he managed to choke out. "But you can annoy me instead. You were always good at it."

Dayla tried to laugh, but she wasn't strong enough. "You were always good at driving all of us crazy. You should have seen Darriss after some of your debates. He was close to adding holes to the Temple walls. And it's Darriss I'm talking about-"

Her voice grew weaker with each word. She gasped desperately for air, the sound of it like a funeral march to Anakin's ears. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Anakin silenced her.

"You should spare your strength," he said gently. "You must live on. Please."

Dayla made a poor attempt at smile. "What for?" she asked him, and he was surprised at the hollowness of her voice. "What is worth living for, when the only thing I want to have is out of my reach?"

Anakin didn't know what to say. The sickening feeling in his stomach intensified. Dayla's breathing grew even more ragged, and Anakin could feel her light trailing away.

"I'm so sorry," he said after several moments. He felt as if he would break from the terrible grief.

Dayla's dispersed gaze focused on him. "Don't be sorry," she whispered in a barely audible voice. "You have given me what I always dreamt of. It doesn't matter that it was only a lie for you."

Her glance became unfocused again, and Anakin wasn't sure if she still saw him.

"I love you," he said sincerely, brushing her cheek.

"No, you don't," Dayla whispered, her voice hoarse. "Not the way I love you. But thanks for saying it-"

Her voice died off, and she drew one last, horribly ragged breath before passing away. Her head fell limply, and her grey eyes, always so full of life, turned glassy.

"Dayla," Anakin called, shaking the still body, even though he knew that she was gone. His mind refused to believe in it. "Dayla, hear me!"

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, his voice filled with endless sadness. "She is-"

"Dead?" another voice finished for him.

The sound of mechanical legs filled the room, and several droids and Taren appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Anakin closed Dayla's eyes and stood up, his own eyes glistering with imaginative tears.

"It was a heart-wrenching scene to witness," Taren sneered venomously. "I even had tears in my eyes when the poor, desperate girl died."

Anakin felt grief being replaced by mad rage. This man killed Dayla, and he had hurt Padmé. Anger overtook him, and he felt his barriers crumpling under the surge of savage power. Air crackled around them, as if sparkled with electricity. Without clearly thinking what he was doing, Anakin extended his hand, and under the power of his Force-push, all droids were sent flying into the air with a breathtaking speed. Not a single one remained undamaged. Taren, however, remained standing, and he was unimpressed by Anakin's demonstration.

"Another best friend died at your fault and in front your eyes. Who is your best friend now?"

"Master, please, find Padmé," Anakin said evenly, activating his lightsaber. "I want to finish him on my own."

"Anakin, revenge is not the Jedi way," Obi-Wan said apprehensively.

"I don't care," Anakin growled in a low voice that was so different from his own. "This monster hurt Padmé and killed my best friend. You can't stop me, Master. Not now."

Obi-Wan looked hesitant, but then nodded reluctantly. "Please, control your emotions, Anakin," he said before rushing off.

Taking a calming breath, Anakin enveloped himself in the Force and leaped at Taren. Once again, they became engaged in a cage of blue and red, moving with an inhuman speed and precision.

"You have a lovely and passionate wife, Anakin," Taren said, smirking gleefully. "If you hadn't come in the last time, she would have given herself to me wholly. But today, we caught up where we broke off."

Anakin felt the thin walls of his self-restriction crumple, and the Force ocean shuddered violently. A tsunami of black, destructive power washed over him, and puffs of red smoke danced before his eyes. Since his mother had died, Anakin had carried a beast in his chest, and he feared the power it had over him. He feared what he would be capable of if he lessened the shields around it. But in this situation, he only welcomed its untamed power.

Feeling the monster breaking free, Anakin attacked Taren with such speed that his vision became blurry. He didn't see his opponent; he didn't perceive his surrounding and the cold blue light of his blade was the only thing his physical vision captured. Through the Force, Anakin felt fear taking hold over Taren, how his feeble Force reserves were slowly fading away. A smirk touched his handsome featured, a taste of invincibility and vengeance in his mouth. The Dark Jedi was nothing but a miserable little creature that could be squashed easily.

Anakin felt the Force quivering, its beautiful white glow tarnished by blackness, but Anakin thought that he had never seen anything as magnificent as this thick darkness. It sang to him, inviting him to submerge in it, and the monster in him echoed to it, telling him to accept its calling. Why did he call the creature in him a monster? It was a joyful bundle of energy, full of good intentions. He touched it, and the creature purred in delight, telling him to kill Taren.

Anakin kicked Taren hard in the solar plexus, the Force strengthening his kick, and the Dark Jedi fell backwards. The crimson blade slashed the air, intent on cutting his flesh arm off, but Anakin blocked it. Taren was evil and twisted, for he wanted to hurt Padmé. He was a vessel of darkness, and therefore needed to be eliminated. Taren killed Dayla, and Anakin loved her. Taren forced Padmé into betraying him, and Anakin hated him for that.

A tremble spread over the sea of darkness, and Anakin threw Taren across the wall. The Dark Jedi fell hard onto the floor, but stood up at once only to be hit by a section of the wall that Anakin tossed at him. It buried him beneath it, and Taren lay panting, his face badly bruised and bleeding.

Anakin walked to him, his entire being screaming in gloating delight, the creature praising him. He extended his hand, and the still activated crimson lightsaber flew into his outstretched hand. He deactivated it.

"And so it ends for you, Taren Meeda," Anakin said calmly.

The injured man coughed bitterly. "No, it ends for you here," he said quietly. "It's not me you have defeated, you have defeated yourself."

The beast laughed loudly, and Anakin laughed with it. "I'm the Chosen One. I cannot be defeated."

Anakin thought that Taren's eyes flashed with pity, but the beast told him that it was a sparkle of malice.

"I despise you, Anakin Skywalker," Taren said quietly. "But the person I'm talking with now is not him. Skywalker is the Chosen One, and his destiny will always keep him away from his friends. You, too, will always walk a lonely path, but only because no one will ever love you. They will hate and fear you, and in your bitterness, you will kill them one by one only to make yourself more hated, more repulsive in their eyes. It's a chain reaction – the darkness will swallow you until there is nothing more left of your former self." His voice softened, and Anakin could have sworn that sadness mirrored in his eyes. The beast told him to ignore it, and he obeyed. "I know what it feels like."

Anakin lowered his blue blade to Taren's neck. "I'm not alone," he said coldly. "I have friends who care about me, and a wife who loves me."

"But your wife betrayed you, and she will do it again," Taren said simply. Red blood was flowing out of his mouth.

Red. Red as the puffs of smoke that danced even more madly before Anakin's eyes.

Padmé wouldn't betray him again. It wasn't a betrayal in the first place.

"You lie," Anakin growled menacingly, his fist clenching.

Taren smirked. "A dying man never lies," he said, his feeble voice colouring in a venomous tone. "I didn't even have to mind-trick her. I wouldn't even be able even if I needed to; she is too strong-minded. She kissed me wholly aware that it wasn't you who she was kissing."

Anakin drew a shaky, unstable breath. "Liar," he said in a trembling voice.

He extended his right hand, his entire being screaming in savage lust to kill Taren, and the Dark Jedi gasped for air, clutching his throat. Anakin increased his hold on him, and Taren's face slowly turned pale. Anakin smirked inwardly, feeling the surge of power flowing through his body. It felt good.

"Anakin!" he heard a voice calling him from far, far away. He knew this voice.

He released his grip on Taren and looked round. Obi-Wan came in, supporting Padmé. She was bruised and looked the worse for wear, but her eyes were glowing like bright stars in the infinite blackness of the space, and love radiating from her was so overpowering that his breath was taken away. The beast told him to ignore her, because she was a traitor, but Anakin didn't listen to it.

"Anakin!" she cried again. Tears were running down her cheeks, but she was smiling. Despite her bruises and several cuts, Anakin had never seen a more beautiful thing before.

The beast cried violently to turn his back on her and kill Taren, but its pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Why was he listening to it, anyway? The thing he was about to do was a murder, and Anakin was not a killer. Taren was a helpless, defeated enemy, and he would die from his injuries anyway. Slowly, Anakin felt the darkness rushing away from him, the light sparkling again, but the beast demanded to be released again. Padmé could never love a beast. As unconditional love to his wife overtook his heart, he could feel the beast screaming in agony and retreating in the deepest recesses of his soul. It was not likely to resurface again, and Anakin would make sure it never would.

"Padmé," he gasped, grinning from ear to ear. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, and suddenly burst in tears. Anakin wanted to rush to her, to take her in his arms, to tell her that he loved her, but a hand gripped his ankle. He looked down, and saw Taren staring at him in astonishment.

"She is a traitor," he hissed. "Why do you love her? She betrayed you, and she would do it again in a blink of an eye."

Anakin jerked his leg from his touch. "I don't think of it as of betrayal," he said calmly, and at this moment, he believed in his own words. "She loves me, and you can never betray someone you love."

Taren bit his lip, looking sad. "You are a young, compassionate fool, Anakin Skywalker. Time will prove you wrong."

Even if Padmé was waiting for him, Anakin couldn't help but linger for another moment next to the man he nearly killed in cold blood. "You were a Jedi once, Taren Meeda," he said quietly, lowering himself next to him. "What happened to you that you chose a path of darkness?"

Taren chuckled bitterly. "Path of darkness," he said maliciously. "These are great words, as if by the Jedi textbook. The Jedi deal in absolutes. They don't see that evil is never a pure evil. They don't realise what real power is. If they opened their eyes and used it, the galaxy would have been a much better place. But they are too blind. The galaxy is changing, but the Jedi just sit in the Council chamber, meditating about the ways of the Force-"

His voice broke off, caught in a fit of coughing, blood spluttering from his mouth. "You see it too, Anakin Skywalker," he continued, locking his eyes with Anakin's, and the younger Jedi didn't look away. "You aren't content with the ways of the Order either, I can see it in your eyes. You and I, we are unique, and that's why we will always be alone."

"I'm not like you," Anakin spat, disgusted. "I am a Jedi, and serve to the light. And I'm not alone. I have a wife who loves me, and two friends who care about me."

Taren snorted. "I have already told you not to trust your wife," he said quietly. "As for your friends, they are not your real friends."

"What?" Anakin exclaimed, abashed.

"Palpatine is first and foremost a politician, and he is interested in the benefits of the Republic only. As for Obi-Wan, he is only loyal to the principles. He never wanted you in the first place, and if you step over the line, he will sacrifice you for the greater good in the blink of an eye. He will do nothing to try and save you."

It was enough. "Obi-Wan trained and cared about me since I was a little boy," Anakin contradicted, standing up. "And Palpatine has my best interests in his heart."

Taren stared at him long and unblinking, and Anakin couldn't make himself look away. "One of them is only pretending to be your friend," he said quietly, his voice surprisingly soft. "I hate you, Anakin Skywalker, but I see much of myself in you. You hear the same voice calling for you, and that's why I feel bonded to you and tell you this. One of them is not your friend. He is only using you for his plans, and you are a pawn in his hands."

Anakin looked at him incredulously. It was impossible! He would trust both Obi-Wan and Palpatine with his life. "You lie," he said shortly, and walked away from him.

He heard a sound of feeble, bitter laugh behind him. "Time will show you that I was right, young fool."

Ignoring Taren, he rushed to Padmé and embraced her gently. "Did he hurt you?" Anakin asked her anxiously, holding a breath.

"No," she whispered, smiling happily. "He didn't have a chance to."

Anakin exhaled loudly, and took her in his arms again. Padmé hadn't been hurt, he thought, his heart making a back flip.

"Ani, I was so scared," Padmé murmured into his chest. "I was so scared that you wouldn't come. I was so scared that you didn't love me…"

His heart breaking from her words and from his stupidity, Anakin gently pulled away from Padmé. "I'm so sorry, my love," he said sincerely. "I've been stupid."

Padmé shook her head. "No, I've been stu-" she started contradicting him, but he silenced her with a hot, passionate kiss. Anakin sensed Obi-Wan turning away, and even if he knew that they had a lot to discuss, he didn't want to think about it at this moment. The only thing that was important was that he was kissing his wife, the thing he had been aching to do for many months.

"I should bring you to the medical ward," he said after they broke off.

Padmé nodded. "I'm sorry about Dayla," she said softly, looking at the still body. "I know she meant much to you."

Anakin wanted to thank her, but words failed him. The pain of loss was still too fresh, and the happiness at their reunion too vivid. Conflicting emotions took hold of him again, and he could only smile slightly at her words. Padmé returned his smile, her eyes shining with love and understanding.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin called to his former Master, who was still standing rigidly, with his back turned.

"Can I turn around?" Obi-Wan asked, the tone of his voice too casual.

"Yes, you can look now," Anakin said, grinning from ear to ear despite himself.

Obi-Wan turned around, looking slightly embarrassed and flushed. Anakin decided that he would tease him about it later.

"I need to escort Senator Amidala to the medical ward," he said evenly. "Could you please guard Taren till the shuttle arrives?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Of course," he said calmly. "And meanwhile you can look after Senator Amidala."

Padmé laughed, and Anakin had to resist the urge to kiss her again in front of Obi-Wan again, but then decided not to test his Master's patience. As he looked round, his glance fell on Dayla.

"She deserves a funeral," he said quietly. "Please make sure that she will be taken care of."

Obi-Wan gave him a long look full of compassion. "She will be," he said at last.

With a last glance at his old friend's body, Anakin gripped Padmé by the waist and escorted her to the exit, away from this horrible place where he had nearly lost himself.